Talethiel Dawnquill
(You have the right to consent: You are not obligated to play with or acknowledge this character's existence if you aren't comfortable with the concept.) A good soldier, fiercely loyal, obedient, and stalwart, becomes a monster as a result of his unquestioning loyalty to his Prince. Now awakened and defected, this monster struggles to protect fellow defector brothers, fit into a world that hates him, and to protect his ancestral homeland and its people, even if those people would kill him before hearing him out. Physical Description From afar this Sin'dorei man looks like a beacon of light,. The elf stands tall with a bulky build, broad shoulders and stiff posture. His hair is white and combed back into a wild ponytail. As one would expect, from someone who looks like an obvious paladin, this elf has a very subtle light aura, though in actuality it's radiating from an enchantment on his armor instead of from his person. He seems to have a very subtle fel aura that the most skilled of sensitives might detect, though it's difficult to detect in Quel'thalas where the fel has seeped into everything, he's like a needle in a haystack. In spite of Talethiel bulky build, his face is somewhat bony, with a strong brow ridge and pronounced cheekbones. His jaw line is also prominent. He wears a pained grimace on his face and has worry lines across his forehead, frown lines around his mouth, and crows feet beside his eyes. This man is by no means in his prime and isn't terribly attractive. He is actually unremarkable and rather uninteresting to look at. Talethiel wears a golden choker around his neck with a green gem on it and he has the lower side of his upper ears pierced in many places. His left ear has a set of four golden rings. The right side has six golden rings going from near the top of his ear down to his lobe and a delicate chain linking them. Attached to the chain is an assortment of little colored stones wrapped in thin gold colored wire. The stones are black, grey, a dark navy shade of blue, and one fuchsia. His armor is a heavy plate armor set covered in thick leather robes and he wears with a large headpiece that serves as a gorget and obscures part of his face. He has a heavy cloak on his back and very little of Talethiel's skin is actually visible to the naked eye, only his upper face and ears. Talethiel is actually a Felblood Elf and his disguise is a high level illusion spell enchanted on his choker. The spell not only alters how he looks, but makes him seem less memorable. A Light user before his transformation, this elf refuses to give up his use of the Light, even if it hurts him. Even the red herring light aura his armor radiates causes him pain and he simply copes with it. It's no wonder he doesn't seem like a cheerful ray of sunshine. Without his illusion, Talethiel's skin is a ruddy color, he's got horns, and white wings that match his hair. Where are his wings when he's in his armor? He's wearing a harness under his armor that straps them down tight against his body. The back of his armor actually has a little more room than a normal set of armor would to accommodate the wings and he usually doesn't sit because he'd bend them funny. Talethiel spends much of his free time cooped up at home. When he does come out he's either protecting someone else, shopping for his flock, or working. When he's out, he is often seen looking at a pocket watch, as he times construct and guard patrols so he can avoid getting too close, just in case someone senses his glamour and becomes curious as to exactly what he's hiding. In reality, glamour spells aren't uncommon as elves use them to hide their age or scars, and only constructs are known to scry through them, after all, removing the illusion of a wealthy aging magistrix in the middle of town is likely to cost a guard their job. Personality Talethiel is a stalwart man with a strong sense of duty and an apparent lack of social interest in other people. He doesn't appear to unsettle easily but will often quietly dismiss himself from public scenes when they become too exciting, and he does not actively seek social interaction with people outside of his own social circle. Occasionally something will catch his attention and his sense of goodness and duty as a protector overrides his unsocial nature and he will position himself as a protector of those in need. Unprompted social interaction makes Talethiel appear overly standoffish, cold and unfriendly, as if he's intentionally pushing people away. Those who persist past Talethiel's attempts to scare people of may find that behind his facade, Talethiel is actually a pleasant fellow, slow to anger, and extremely patient, and those who work hard to earn his trust might find out about his jealously guarded true nature. History Originally born Taleth Dawnbreak, son of a priestess and a spellbreaker, Taleth began training in the use of the Holy Light from a young age and was a promising dawn priest well into his early adulthood, but the young Taleth wanted to be like his father, a strong, stalwart man, not a weak one in a dress. Taleth laid down his staff and cast off his robes in favor of hammers, swords, and shields. He engaged in weight training and focused on physical fitness, becoming a strong specimen of Quel'dorei man. Formally trained in melee combat, the man applied for Spellbreaker training but was denied; he simply lacked the potential to learn the early techniques with reasonable speed. Instead, Taleth joined the Farstriders as a guardian and served in the Thalassian military. Eventually word got out about his skills in the Light and Taleth was promoted to a role of chaplain, a warrior who also performed priestly duties like weddings, funerals, and healing when on deployment, much to Taleth's dismay, but this role was not the same as the role he was in his youth. Taleth accepted his fate as a chaplain and served Quel'thalas loyally for years. When Quel'thalas fell, Taleth was defending the Sunwell, another defender dragged Taleth's broken body from the fray, and he eventually woke and healed himself. Like many able-bodied survivors, Taleth volunteered to go with Kael'thas to Dalaran, was imprisoned by Garithos, and wound up in Outland. With his pre-existing martial and Light backgrounds, he was a prime candidate for the new Blood Knight order and was shipped briefly back to Quel'thalas to get a basic Naaru infusion and some training before redeployment back to the Eye. In his new unit, as a Blood Knight, Taleth met a priest named Vosath and the two became fast friends. They were away on mission after mission together; they missed both the defection of the Scryers and the fall of the eye. As loyal soldiers of Kae'thas, they received a transfer into the Shadowsword Regiment rewarded them where they were commanded to gorge on Fel energy and demon blood--mutating them into monsters. Taleth, a good soldier, obeyed orders without question and they became Felblood Elves, and due to their Light-oriented nature, both Taleth and Vosath found themselves in constant agonizing pain from their light auras burning their fel-bodies. The constant pain was a rude awakening that opened Taleth's eyes to how corrupt and wrong the Prince of Quel'thalas had become. It was too little too late, he was already a monster. Taleth, as a decorated leader, and Vosath as an expert healer, found themselves tasked with converting other Felblood Elves, even though they secretly did not agree with the practice themselves. They witnessed the slaughter of their brothers and sisters in arms who tried to flee conversion. While some elves in Shadowsword willingly converted, others were not so willing but did so out of fear. After a few waves of converts, Taleth and Vosath found themselves in charge of three new converts, Zarin, Gareth, and Patharin. The two Light-using Felblood Elves watched over their charge but noticed the three whispering in conspiracy in their shared tent one night--whispering about escape. The two revealed to the trio that they, too, wanted to escape and the five devised a plan. When adventurers from Shattrath attacked the Throne of Kil'jaden on behalf of the Shattered Sun Offensive, the five Felblood defectors fled and proceeded to hide in Outland for most of a decade, sometimes half-mad, feral, surviving on whatever they could find to eat, sticking together for comfort and protection. They were strongest together. As time went on, the prolonged exposure to ambient fel and the twisting nether resulted in the elves' wings continued growth. Their oily small black nascent feathers gave way to colorful ones that matched the keratin in their hair, and the wings grew from small winglets to much larger and far more normal looking wings. Their horns, too, continued to grow. After almost a decade of living like savages, the group longed for home, for Quel'thalas. They knew they risked death upon returning but the desire for shelter, civilization, fresh, clean, and properly prepared food, and warm baths were too much to resist. The Felblood traded their way to enough currency for new clothes, chokers of illusion to disguise themselves, and to pay their way into a tiny flat for a few months. They also changed their names, as they were new people. Taleth became Talethiel Dawnquill. The Felbloods picked up odd jobs and crafted, trading and bartering in Quel'thalas to make ends meet. Sometimes they did not have enough for food and went without, and eventually they took to hunting local wildlife and preparing it themselves rather than spending money on food. One day Talethiel met a Blood Knight who was fascinated by this very pained, ill-tempered looking Paladin elf. The Blood Knight proceeded to flirt relentlessly with Talethiel and trying to get him to join the Blood Knight Order. This went on for many days, even weeks, before Talethiel finally gave up and revealed his true nature to the Blood Knight, who responded not with violence, but identifying Talethiel as a "Pretty bird." This shocked and even repelled Talethiel at first, he never expected someone to see him as something other than a monster. He grew to trust the Blood Knight; he even accepted a communication device from the man. One day, Talethiel was out hunting in the forest because his flock was low on food. He found himself face to face with a warlock who easily saw through and shattered his illusion. The Warlock tried to enslave Talethiel and when he resisted the felcaster used both spells and physical minion attacks to try to break Felblood. The Warlock beat Talethiel within an inch of his life and in a near-death panicked surge of light, the Felblood blasted the man and his demons, gravely injuring them. He dragged his broken body away from the attackers and then used the device to call for help. The Paladin friend came and had him portaled back to his estate for care and Talethiel remained in bed rest, nursed back to health, for over a week. Talethiel began to have nightmares, nightmares about joining the Blood Knight order and nightmares about the Legion. These both terrified him and he confessed his fears to the kind Blood Knight caretaker. It turns out there were many people having similar premonitions. The Blood Knight offered Talethiel and his flock safe harbor in his home, Talethiel reluctantly accepted the Blood Knight's offer of shelter, and had the rest of his flock brought to the house. They settled in and have enjoyed their own rooms, three hot cooked meals a day, hot running water, and are basically in Felblood heaven in their new home. They turned their attention to relaxation, healing, and a cure for their condition. They managed to find a partial cure, one that greatly reduced the fel in their system but did not revert their physical mutations. They no longer appear to have heavily demonic auras to onlookers, instead like elves who have had too much fel. Upon hearing tales from the Blood Knight about the Silver Hand accepting a holy Nathrazim into their order, Talethiel agreed to try joining that order, and by proxy rejoining the Blood Knights. Talethiel figured if it was possible to redeem Nathrazim and have it join the Silver Hand; then a Felblood Elf Paladin had a chance. He still wears his illusion and his armor, which projects a light aura that makes his fel aura harder to detect. He is afraid that if anyone other than the high-ranking Silver Hand members who know his secret find out, he might still face his death. The Silver Hand is probably watching him closely to assure he's actually trustworthy. Quotes "Only the weak abandon duty due to pain." External Links Talethiel on Battle.net Category:Felblood Elf Category:Fellowship of Feathers Category:House Pyreanor Category:Lightsworn